


Hero's Journey

by Chi_townbatgirl



Category: DCU (Comics), TeenTitans - Fandom, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Original Character(s), Superheroes, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-11 12:50:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17447342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chi_townbatgirl/pseuds/Chi_townbatgirl
Summary: Summary: Hey guys! I'm so excited to introduce my OC, Emma Aiden Teague. She's a DC Comics OC. Her best friends are Wally and Dick, along with my 2 friends' OCs Avery Yu and Lily De Sauveterre (@audreyandherocs @ocelysium on Tumblr, respectively). She has some superpowers, but I won't tell you what just yet. Her blog is @Call-me-emma on Tumblr.





	1. First Introductions

**Summary** : Hey guys! I'm so excited to finally have this finished. It's my first story with Emma. It takes place her 2nd year of high school. She moved to Central City a year ago and this is the story of how she meets a certain redhead. (And yes, I've done my research on where he's originally from in the comics. I tried to stick as close to the canon I could find as possible.)

**Word Count** : 1492

**Warnings** : None

**Note** : Telepathy and 'thought dialogue' is marked in italics

Emma tugged at the strap of her backpack adjusting its position. She wondered how it got so heavy. Then she remembered she was carrying her books for Biology, AP European History, and American Lit.

"Ow! Dang, it" she exclaimed as she walked straight into the glass doors to Central City High School.  
She'd been distracted, as usual, flipping through her planner to see what she had forgotten for the day. Thankfully nobody seemed to have seen her; at least nobody seemed to be laughing. She didn't feel anyone thinking how foolish she was either. She fumbled with the pages till she found the correct page. Emma wondered how she ever knew what day of the week it was. The only way she ever remembered was by what classes she had that day, or if she had tae kwon do lessons after school. She frowned slightly as looked at the page. Today was Student Ambassador day.

Emma had been excited about it when she signed up, but now she wasn't so sure. Her teacher had recommended her, and she'd never been the one to say no to an authority figure. Besides which, she had been a bit too proud to admit she was nervous; that meeting new people wasn't really her thing. She had pushed herself outside of her comfort zone far enough when she met her best girlfriend one year ago. It had been her first day of school in a new city. She had walked up to the only other table in the cafeteria anyone sitting alone and asked if she could sit there. The girl had been on her bus that morning. After that, Emma and the girl had become best friends.

It had been a year since Emma moved to Central City from Chicago. She had adjusted well to her new life in a quieter town. Chicago was The Big City. Everything was noise and light and change and -LOUD. Always loud. Loud enough to drown out the thoughts in her head. The rumble of the L-Train, sirens, a few birds, occasional gunshots, street vendors hawking their Chicago Dogs, people going about their day. Rushing to and fro; their heads all filled with thoughts.  
Mostly about things she was too young or too naive to understand. Mortgages, business deals, politics. Sometimes she understood. Parents with sick kids, students worried about exams, couples fighting about money. Families of police officers and firefighters afraid their loved ones wouldn't come home. These things she understood, as she worried about these same things. Sometimes it was all too much. Sensing the so many thoughts of so many people at once left little room for her own thoughts. The sounds of the city had helped with that and allowed her to block most of it out. Given her headspace to focus on her own problems. Even though, when she did, she felt a twinge of guilt. The world was so big. And Emma Aiden Teague and her problems were so small. So insignificant. At first moving to Central City had been a bit of a culture shock. Then it had been a relief, at least in some ways. It was so much quieter. There were fewer people, which meant fewer thoughts and emotions. And the people were quieter and more gentle with their thoughts.

Emma had looked forward to moving to a new place where she could start over. Back in Chicago, she'd always been the odd one out. Except in the dojang, where she had found a second family. Moving gave her a chance to start over. Nobody knew her, so she could remake herself into anyone. She could sculpt herself into the popular, outgoing girl she'd always wanted to be. More like her mother or her younger sister Jessica. It hadn't worked as well as she'd hoped.  
Now she was supposed to show the new kids around and make them feel welcome. She'd be giving them tips on how to survive- which teachers gave pop quizzes and which were good to ask for extra credit work, where the library was, those sorts of things. That part wasn't a problem. But after all her efforts, she still never quite fit in with the right crowd. She wasn't popular, she was still somewhat of the awkward girl. She wasn't sure whether to pity the poor kid who got stuck with her or dread getting laughed at. But she held onto the possibility that it would end up going well.

Shaking her slightly to clear it, Emma pulled herself out of her little reverie. She cursed as she looked at the clock in the hallway. She was almost late for first period! In her rush, she nearly ran straight into one of the upper-grade teachers. _Please don't let me get detention! I'm already running late, I don't have time for that!_ she thought.

"It's ok. you've got time, I'm not giving you detention. Just slow down, and try to watch where you're going, Miss Teague."

Emma managed to slide into her seat seconds before the bell rang, harried and out of breath.

Later that morning she was sitting next to the new boy she was assigned to as the student ambassador in the cafeteria. He had sunset orange hair and green eyes that seemed to buzz with electricity perfectly complimented by a smattering of freckles. He looked like the kind of boy who should be awkward but somehow wasn't. He had an air of confidence. She was suddenly very aware of the way her shoulder length brown hair hung straight and boring. Her eyebrows probably needed plucked, her lips were bleeding again from nervously picking them, and she surely had dark circles under her muddy brown eyes.

"Ok, Wally. Let's see what classes you've got," she said reaching for his schedule.

"Hey, call me Wallman" He finger gunned her as he handed over his schedule.  
She rolled her eyes and chuckled at him. "Ok, Wallman". Looking over his schedule she noticed they had several classes together and set hers down for comparison. "Here. We've got physics, American lit, and P.E. together. I can help you with American Lit if you need it, but physics isn't exactly my strong suit. I've got French for my foreign language, and my Spanish is a little rusty. So I might not be able to help you much with that. But I've heard Senorita Blanco is good. Doesn't give too much homework and she's supposed to be fun."

"Ah, bueno. Bueno." Wally winked at her. "You speak the French, Mademoiselle? Perhaps you will teach the Wallman."

Emma smiled slightly and shook her head at his attempt at a French accent. "I mean, I guess, if you want me to. I'm not that good though. I only know un peu." She made her index finger and thumb into a 'little bit' gesture. "My friend Natalie is better."

"Nah, babe. I'd rather you teach me"

She blushed slightly in spite of herself and looked at the table, wondering if he was flirting or if he was always like this. "Please don't call me babe."

Wally had the decency to look sorry as he put his hands up. "Oh. Ok. Sorry. I won't, Emma"

"Thanks" She shoved her books back into her bag as the warning bell for the next period rang. "Ok, this is one of the classes we have together. American Lit. You can sit by me if you want."

"Yeah, sure ba...Sorry. Sure. Lead the way." He paused for a moment. "Hey, Emma, my aunt, and uncle are throwing us a welcome barbeque this evening. Want to come?"

"Sure, ok, I guess. Is this, um, like a big thing, or?"

"Nah. Not too big. Uncle Barry and Aunt Iris are pretty cool. It'll be lots of fun. But it'd be better if you were there." He looked at her with a smirk.

"Alright. I'll come. I have to double check with my parents first, but sure. What time?"

"6:30ish." As they approached the classroom door, Wally put his arm around her. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

Emma chuckled again. She couldn't pinpoint why, but her instincts told her he was right. She felt comfortable around him. Somehow she could sense that underneath the cockiness, he was a good guy. The kind who genuinely wanted to help people. Something just clicked. "Haha. I think so too, Wallman. Now let's go before we're late."


	2. Introductions Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Emma meets Avery Yu (Avery belongs to @audreyshiu @audreyandherocs on Tumblr) for the first time. Wally and Avery notice there might be something special about Emma. Emma notices too but isn't sure what it is. Can you tell what's going on with Emma?

"Ugh! I feel so stupid! Why can't I get this?" Emma said with her head in her hands and a painfully glazed look on her face. "Wally, I'm sorry. Can you explain it again? Slower?"

Wally stopped tapping his pencil on the physics homework like a machine gun. "Right. Right. Sorry, Emma. I just get so excited. About all this science stuff, y'know. It's just fascinating."

"It's ok, Feet. It's hilarious how excited you get. But I already don't understand it, and it doesn't help that I can only understand every other word you're saying. Sometimes I think I should have taken a different science class. I don't know if I'll ever be able to pass this class." She moaned.

Wally looked at her sympathetically. "Every other word, huh? That's impressive. Most people only get about every third or fourth when I get going like that. Ok. Let's look at this again. Don't worry, you'll get it."

They sat in the library going over the problem sheet, with Wally patiently explaining until it finally clicked. A proud grin spread across Emma's face as she dropped her pencil excitedly. "I think I got it! I finally got it, Wally!" She looked at him questioningly. "I did get it, didn't I?"

"Well, let's see." He took her homework and nodded. "Yep! You got it! I knew you would. You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for, Ems."

Emma nudged him playfully. "Well, I had a good teacher. You're really good at explaining things, Wallman. Once you slow down enough that is. You make it so much more relevant than Mr. Freeman does."  
The bell for the end of the period rang before they were able to get to the American Lit paper so they made plans to get together after school.

Later that day Wally's phone rang while Emma was explaining the symbolism in The Great Gatsby. "Ok, great. Thanks, Uncle Barry. Yeah. I'll see you guys tomorrow night then. How long is she here for? Oh. Hey. Would it be ok to introduce her to Emma? Do you think she'd be comfortable with that?"

Emma stopped her highlighter in midair and looked at Wally questioningly at the mention of her name.

He covered the mouthpiece of the phone and whispered, "My friend Avery is coming to visit for a few days. She's staying with Uncle Barry. Want to meet her?"

Emma smiled and gave a thumbs up. "So. Who's Avery?"

Wally hung up the phone. "She's a family friend from Gotham. She's a few years younger than us, but you'll like her. She's pretty cool. Avery's like a little ball of positive energy. You two will get along great, I can't wait for you to meet her."

She smiled as she listened to Wally talk about his friend. "She sounds great. I can't wait to meet her." _That's great, but what if she doesn't_...

Wally cut her off mid-thought. "And don't worry, Emma. She'll love you."

"I didn't say anything. I'm not worried," she lied. _I thought I kept it off my face. How did he know I was thinking that?_ She wondered.

Wally squinted and pursed his lips in thought and looked confused for a moment. "You didn't have to say anything, Emma. I know you. And your face isn't as blank as you think. You have no poker face, y'know."

"Haha. I guess not. So, when am I meeting her?"

"Saturday? We can go mini golf or something"

"Sounds good. I can drive," Emma replied.

That Saturday Emma headed to Barry and Iris's house after taekwondo. She had dressed in jean shorts and a pink and white baseball tee with a floral pattern emblazoned in the middle and gold flip-flops. Her hair was held back on either side by a pair of butterfly clips. Wally greeted her at the door with a grin. He was talking about a million miles a minute and his eyes danced with energy. Emma could tell he'd probably already consumed several Monster drinks. A petite girl with a cute button nose, sharp lime green eyes, and pale golden skin stood behind him. Her long black hair was pulled into pigtails adorned with ribbons that matched her eyes.

The girl peered shyly from behind Wally as he stepped aside for her to move forward. "Hi."

"Emma, this is Avery. Avery, Emma." Wally stood watching his two friends closely.

For a moment Emma felt slightly unnerved as the girl stared at her. She seemed to be looking into Emma's soul. She tilted her head, taking in everything about Emma without saying a word. Suddenly Avery grinned and lunged, engulfing Emma in a surprisingly strong hug.

The second they touched, Emma felt a buzz of electricity like a static shock. She didn't know how, but she knew they would be forever linked. Emma also felt a strange sensation she hadn't felt since she had met Wally- the sensation of another mind connecting with hers. Of course, she didn't know that's what she was feeling at the time.

Emma smiled as she returned Avery's hug. "It's good to meet you. I'm sure we're going to be great friends."  
After a quick lunch with Barry and Iris, the group piled into Emma's Ford station wagon. "Hey, Avery, you want to sit in the front seat?" Emma asked her new friend.

"Hey! No fair! I already called shotgun!" Wally whined.

"Well, maybe I like Avery better," Emma smirked. "Plus, she's the guest, so she gets first pick."

Avery giggled slightly. "It's ok, Emma. Wally can sit up front this time," she said climbing into the backseat.

The three friends made it to the fun park shortly. It had been redesigned recently to feature a Flash theme after Kid Flash and Flash had stopped a Prankster attack on the same block. "Hey! Look! You think we'll get in for free if we tell them we're friends with the Flash?" Wally joked.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Wally. You aren't friends with them. Just cause they maybe saved you once. Have you ever even met them?"

Avery gave Wally a warning look. _Be careful, Wally. Obviously, she doesn't know_ , she said telepathically to the young speedster.

Wally stammered indignantly. "Of course I have! Barry was able to meet him through his job at the police station. He introduced me for my birthday a few years ago. And last month, I was visiting Barry at work when Captain Cold attacked the station. Flash and Kid flash burst in and saved the day. Flash was all like 'I'm putting you back on ice, Cold!' then he waved at me as he ran off! It was so cool!"

Emma nudged her friend. "Haha! Cool! I see what you did there. I didn't know you were such a fanboy!" She paused for a moment and furrowed her brow in thought before turning to Avery. "You're from Gotham, right? What's Batman and Robin like? Do they really have superpowers? Have you ever met them? Isn't Robin supposed to be about our age?" She rambled, barely covering her enthusiasm.

Wally laughed at his friend and smirked. "Emma! I didn't know you were such a fangirl."  
Emma stammered. "I-I'm not. I'm just. I'm curious. I've seen the news channels talking about them, and I. I don't know. He seems cool. Like, Robin is just. And they say he's got some pretty awesome martial arts skills and stuff. And Robin..."

Wally cut her off. "Haha, Ems. If I didn't know better, I'd say you have a crush."

She blushed furiously, biting her lip. "I do not. I just think, y'know. He's only our age and he's already so..."

Wally and Avery looked at each other and smiled knowingly. "Yep. Definitely, a crush" Wally confirmed.

"Dang it, Wally! It's not a crush. It's just. Nevermind. You wouldn't understand." She looked at Avery pleadingly.

It didn't take long for her to take the hint and come to her new friend's aid. Avery started slowly, nodding as she spoke. "Well, Batman is a man of the darkness and shadows. Most people only encounter him if they live in the shadows themselves. Criminals and the sort. Not much is actually known about him; he's pretty secretive. He tries really hard not to scare the innocent, especially children. Robin helps with that. He's more, light. And since he's younger, he's not as frightening to victims and children."

"You said he's a man. So he's not a vampire, or a gargoyle, or have superpowers?" Emma prodded.

"Oh. He's definitely mortal." Avery replied. "Now. What do we want to do first? Mini-golf or the arcade?" She said, eager to change the subject before she said too much. Bruce wouldn't like her to give away any more.

"Mini-golf sounds good first," Emma said taking charge of the group.

Ten holes into the round the three gathered around a particularly challenging obstacle. Making the shot would require hitting the ball up an incline with just the right amount of force at just the right angle so it ricocheted off a bumper and around a corner, then through another maze of bumpers into the cup. Emma shot first, rolling the ball up the hill and back down. Wally and Avery tried with the same result.

"Ah man! This is gonna take forever to get past this hole!" Emma threw her hands up in frustration after the fourth try.

Avery calmly looked at the setup, clearly pondering how best to make the shot. Emma had noticed that for all her exuberance and youthful energy, Avery also had a quietly observant quality. She carefully took in everything around her before speaking or acting. At her age, Emma found it impressive. Wally bent low and squinted at the ground, looking back and forth from the tee to the first bumper. He drummed his fingers on his knee the way he did when faced with a difficult science problem.

Emma took a different approach. She picked up her purple ball and held it to her face. "Now. You're going to cooperate with me, you little rascal. Go in the dang cup. Ok?" She set the ball back down, to puzzled looks from Avery and Wally.

"Do you think it will help? Talking to the ball?" Avery asked curiously.

"Haha, maybe. You never know," Emma joked. "Now. Let's try this again." She set up her shot and watched anxiously as the ball rolled up the hill. "Go, go, go! No! Turn!" she muttered under her breath, waving the ball along with her hands. For a second the ball looked like it would roll back down the hill. Instead, it ricocheted off the bumper and around the corner. Emma jogged to follow it, watching in amazement as it kept going, through the remaining bumpers and into the cup. "Oh my god! It went in! It really went in!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"No way! Emma, that's physically impossible in one shot. With the angle and the amount of force, you'd need" Wally said skeptically, moving to follow his friend.

"No. Look. She's right. It went in." Avery pointed at the cup. After a thoughtful pause, she looked at Emma. "Do you think you can do it again?"

"Aha, uh. no. No way. I'm not even sure how I made that one. It was a complete fluke."

"Well, maybe you'll get lucky."

Avery glanced at Wally. _You're right. There's no way she anyone should have been able to make that in one shot._

 _I know. And this isn't the first time I've noticed something like this with her._ Wally noted. _Let's see if she can do it again._

"Yeah, Ems, maybe you've got the magic touch. Humor me. Try it again. I want to see how you did it."

"Ok, fine," she sighed. "I'll try it again. But I'm telling you guys. I can't make that again. I don't even know how I made it last time. Emma lined up again, this time with Wally's ball. The shot made the corner and made it all the way to the last bumper before stopping briefly. "Ugh! Go in! You're so close," she whispered. The ball went in. Emma stared in disbelief. "Uh... I.. What the heck? It went in!"

"See. You've got the magic touch. Or maybe the magic words," Avery said.

"Haha, yeah. I guess talking to the ball works. I'm not sure if I should be concerned about that," Emma laughed nervously.

Wally looked from Emma to the cup, to Avery. _Should we see if she can go three for three? He mentally asked Avery._

 _Good idea. Do you think she suspects anything? Do we even suspect anything? It could just be a coincidence._ Avery replied

_Something definitely seems to be going on. Once is luck, twice is a coincidence. Three, well... I'm not sure what I suspect, but..._

_Did you say you've noticed things like this with her before?_

_A few times. Things seem to move around her without her touching them. It's subtle and easy to miss, but it's happened a few times. And I think I've heard her talking in my head a couple times. But I don't think she knows it's happening._ Wally explained

 _Ah.. well, then let's at least see if she can do it again_ , Avery agreed before turning back to Emma. "Hey. Emma. Want to try three for three?" She handed her pink golf ball.

"Sure. Mide as well. Whad are da chances, right?" Emma set up one last time. And one last time, she made a hole in one.

"Emma! That's amazing! How did you do that? Do you have any idea?" Wally asked.

"Maybe the ball listens to you? Or maybe you give off special vibrations?" Avery speculated.

"Yous guys. It's not dat big of a deal. I don't give off special vibrations or anyding like dat. Id was just dumb luck is all."

"Uh, Ems. Your Chicago is showing," Wally pointed out.

"Let's just finish the course," Avery prompted, noticing her friend's slight agitation.

Emma wondered if Avery and Wally were right about her having some kind of special touch. _Wally's right. Dere's no way dat shoulda been a hole in one. But I made dree o' dem. And it's not da first time I've done someding like dat. What's wrong wid me?_

Avery sensed her discomfort and patted her shoulder reassuringly. "It's ok, Emma. Don't think too much about it."

"Thanks, Avery. I guess I'm just overthinking it." Emma smiled at her friend.

A while later the three were sitting around a picnic table drying off from the bumper boats. Emma stared off into the distance, lost in thought. She hadn't made any more miraculous holes in one. But she had done much better than she usually did in ski-ball in the arcade. Almost ball she'd thrown had gone in the high scoring slot. A few times she thought she'd seen the ball change course when it was about to go into another slot. And the same thing had happened with the air hockey game. The puck had been stuck in the middle of the table once and had moved forward on its own when she muttered at it under her breath like she had the golf balls.

Wally's hand in front of her face pulled her out of her head. "Emma... Earth to Emma"

"What? Oh. Sorry."

"You ok, Emma? You're kind of off on some other planet there," Wally said.

"It's ok, Ems. Just stop worrying. I can tell you're anxious." Avery said.

"Yeah. Sorry. I'm just... Nevermind."

"No worries. I brought snacks. Want some?" Avery pulled a bag of grapes and some cookies out of her bag.

Wally reached greedily for a handful of cookies and shoved them into his mouth. "Yummy."

"I'll have some grapes, please. Oh. Do you guys want some pop? I can go get us some." Emma offered.  
A few minutes later she returned with three drink cups, just in time to see Avery pull out a lemon. "Did you want me to get you a knife for that?" She asked.

"Nope. I'm good." Avery smiled before biting into the lemon, rind and all.

"Oh-oh, ok. So that just happened."

"I know, I'm weird." Avery giggled.

"No. Not weird. Just quirky. Quirky is good." Emma smiled at her new friend. "After this, do you guys want to try the batting cages?"

"Sure. Sounds good to me." Wally said, gathering up the empty drink cups and trash.

"I'm not sure. I've never really done many sports. But you guys go ahead," Avery said a bit hesitant.

"Oh, come on, Avery. It'll be fun. Please?" Emma gave her puppy dog eyes and clasped her hands together.

"Ok. Fine. For you, I'll try." Avery relented.

After selecting the right size helmets and bats, they lined up to try their hands at the batting cages. Wally went first. He missed the first five pitches. " Oh, man! Why do I keep missing?" Wally turned around, dropping his bat in frustration.

"It's because you're too fast, Speedy," Emma commented from the bench.

"Too fast?" Wally questioned.

Emma moved to stand behind home plate just outside the net. "Yeah. You need to wait for the ball. You're swinging too early. Try swinging about one second later. Keep your eye on the ball and follow all the way through."  
It took a few more tries, but with Emma's advice, Wally was able to hit the last few pitches. Avery was up next.

"I'm still not sure about this," Avery said nervously as she stepped up to the plate. She took a few practice swings, with Emma watching carefully.

Noticing her arms drop after each swing, Emma picked up a smaller metal bat and called Avery over. "Here. Try this instead. The aluminum bats are lighter than the wooden ones." She held it out to Avery, showing her how to place her hands. "Choke up on the bat a bit."

Avery raised her eyebrows. "Choke the bat?"

"Oh. Oops, sorry. Move your hands up a little. You'll have better balance with the bat that way, and be able to put more power and control into your swing. There you go." Emma directed Avery's hands to the proper position.

Avery stepped up to the plate and looked back at her friend. "Is this the right way to stand?"

"Hmm...It's more like this" Emma asked, demonstrating the proper stance.

"So, a bit like a tiger stance? Or a fencing stance?" Avery asked, noting the way Emma's knees were slightly bent, with the front foot facing slightly perpendicular, and the weight leaning towards the back a bit.

"Actually, yeah. Sort of. You do martial arts?"

"Yeah, some."Once Avery had the correct stance and hold on the bat, she hit every pitch.

"Wow! Avery! You're amazing! For somebody who never does sports, you're a quick learner!" Emma gushed proudly.

"Well, you're a good teacher, Emma," Avery said stepping out of the cage. "You're up. I bet you'll do great."

"Yeah, coach. Show us how it's done." Wally prompted.

"Uh, I don't know guys. I remember how to bat, in theory. But I was never that good." Emma scuffed her feet in the dirt.

"What are you talking about, Emma? How could you not be great? You coached us. And you forget, I've seen you bat in gym class." Wally encouraged.

"Yeah. It's obvious you know what you're doing. I'm sure you'll do great. Just relax and have fun." Avery handed her a bat.

"Thanks, guys. It's just been a while since I've done this." Emma took the bat from Avery ago and patted her helmet. She took her stance, letting the first few pitches without swinging, watching carefully. On the fourth, she swung and missed. Her frustration clearly showed in the next few swings and she missed again. "Dang it! Ok. Take a deep breath, Emma, you can do this," She coached herself. She managed to hit the next few balls, but she still wasn't satisfied. "I'm sorry, guys. Do you mind if I try again? I know I can do better, and it's going to drive me nuts." Emma looked at her friends apologetically.

"I don't mind. You don't need to do any certain way, and I thought you did well. But if you will feel better to try again, that's what you should do." Avery nodded.

"Yeah. What Aves said. Go for it." Wally agreed. "But, maybe try a different bat. That one looked a bit awkward for you."

"Hmm.. actually, it did feel a bit too light. But this is even a little heavier than the bat I used to use in softball. But you might be right, Wally. I wonder.." She picked up one of the smaller wooden bats and swung. "This feels better." She stepped back up to the plate and took her stance.

 

Wally hit the auto pitch button as Emma gave him a nod. The ball came flying, and Emma swung. Nobody in ear's shot missed the loud "Crack!" as she made contact. Emma's face turned bright red and her mouth dropped open as she stared at the half of a shattered bat in her hands. The other half lay several feet away on the ground.


	3. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma starts to notice some... odd things happening to her. She worries about what it means and if anyone else has noticed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairings: Wally West/OC, platonic
> 
> Warnings: mentions of abuse/ aggressive argument
> 
> Word Count: 1290
> 
> Avery Yu belongs to audreyshiu @audreythetealovingcat, @audreyandherocs

It was Thursday night and Emma was busy preparing the guest room for Avery's visit, with Wally's help. "Hey, does Avery have a favorite flower or special treat she likes? I know lemons, but what else? My mom's gonna pick some stuff up at the store."

Wally finished smoothing out the sheets and picked up a dust rag. "Um, she likes sunflowers and tea. Herbal or green tea."

Emma plucked the rag gently from his hand. "Oh, actually I dusted already. We just need to vacuum and do the bathroom."

Wally stared at his friend and made a note that she seemed to be moving faster than usual lately. "Wow! Done already? That was fast. We're going to have to start calling you Speedy. I just finished the sheets."

"Haha, funny. It's just dusting a few dressers, Feet," Emma rolled her eyes and headed to the bathroom.

"Nah, you forget we have the same gym class. You've been getting some pretty good times on the mile lately, too." Wally pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I've been practicing and training pretty hard in Taekwondo. I guess it's paying off." She shrugged. In a few minutes, she was finished scrubbing the tub and sink. "There. All done."

"Great. Now we just have to vacuum?" Wally asked. He decided not to comment on Emma's quick pace again.  
Emma had a different idea, though. She decided to mess with her friend a bit. "Oh. I already did that," she deadpanned.

"You must have missed it when you blinked." She watched his face for his reaction. He really was fun to tease.

"What? When? How? I mean, really?" he stared at Emma in disbelief, wondering if it really was possible.

Emma let his mind run for a minute before she smirked and chuckled. "Wally. Of course not really." She noticed he didn't seem completely convinced. "That would mean I went downstairs, got the vacuum, used it, and put it back all without you seeing, in the span of about a few seconds. And you just saw me cleaning the bathroom. I was right next to you the whole time. Oh my gosh, your face though. My mom's using it downstairs, I can't use it till she's done." She took Wally's hand and led him back to the guest room, pointing at the floor. "See any vacuum tracks?"

"Phew. Ok, you're right. Silly me. Why do you like to mess with me like that?" Wally asked, a bit relieved.

"Only because you're so much fun." Emma joked. She hoped her little joke would be enough to put Wally off for a while at least. She couldn't be sure if he suspected anything, but the truth was she had noticed a difference in her speed lately.

Her strength and endurance had improved as well. Three days ago she'd run two miles in gym class in under ten minutes. She'd made the first mile lap without realizing it and ended up doing a second. She hadn't noticed she'd done an extra mile till Wally pointed it out and told her he'd had trouble keeping up. What surprised her, even more, was that her lungs weren't burning and she wasn't desperately grasping for her inhaler at the end. In fact, she'd felt like she could have kept going. Then there was the day that she had accidentally set the leg press at almost double what she was normally able to do. She'd done a full 30 reps before anyone noticed, and she hadn't even been the slightest bit sore. The same thing happened with the chest press. And of course the broken bat from a month ago. She kept replaying it over in her head. She didn't know what but she was pretty sure something was happening to her. There were other changes too. The physical changes weren't too alarming; in fact, she was rather excited about them.

But the past few months she thought she had seen things move around her without anyone touching them. It mostly seemed to occur when she was angry or scared. Which sadly was happening a lot more often when her father and she argued. The last argument had been over something so small. Emma had wanted to sit on the floor to do her homework and her dad insisted she sit at the table. She just didn't understand why her dad didn't see she couldn't focus like that. They had ended up screaming at each other, with Emma backed against the wall and Mr. Teague a few inches away. He grabbed her arm, trying to drag her to the table. She remembered thinking how badly she wanted to throw something at him or hit him. The next thing she knew her textbook had gone flying off the coffee table and into the nearby cabinet. The noise had been enough to startle her dad back and he let go.

He looked from the book to her and back. Then he stared her down with so much disgust and fear and anger and hatred and spit out "You little shit! Did you do that?"

She had stood there in shock, cowering, bracing for worse. But he had stormed off in a huff. Nobody else was home at the time, and she hadn't told anyone. She suspected Wally might have sensed something was up when he called her later that night. That was two weeks ago. Shortly after her dad had left and Emma had locked herself in her room with her books, Wally had called. It was long enough for her to collect herself and dry her eyes, but Wally had immediately asked her what was wrong. Without her answering, he had offered to make up an excuse to get her over to his house. Wally's call had been a true blessing. She did something she was doing more and more lately; and thanked whatever god was out there.

That one incident with Wally had been easy to account to a coincidence or a blessing. But she sensed there was more to it than that. Lately, she had suspected she had been hearing his thoughts. And not just his, but Avery's as well when she was in town. It sounded like voices in her head, but the voices always had a distinct sound. The first time she noticed had been simple. She'd had a song stuck in her head all day. When she met with Wally later, he mentioned having the same earworm. The next time they were in study hall and she answered his question before he asked it. She had heard it before he said it out loud. Little things like that happened more and more.  
Having some sort of telepathic link or whatever it was, was fine with Wally or Avery. It alarmed her, but not too much.

But she also had started hearing the thoughts of random classmates. People thinking about sports practice, cheating on a test, their boyfriends and girlfriends, parents, everything. It was like hearing 100 different conversations all at once and not being able to focus on one. She had taken to wearing headphones at lunch and spending as much time as possible in the sanctuary of the library, away from the crowds and noise.

Emma looked back at Wally, afraid he might have sensed what she had just been remembering. If he had, he didn't make any indication, and she was grateful for that. She wasn't sure she was ready to face the music, let alone have anyone find out.


	4. Meet The Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma's powers are becoming more obvious, her friends and family talk about how to approach the topic with her. We meet Emma's family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: Approx. 25K  
> Pairings: OC x Wally West, Platonic  
> Warnings: Very mild reference to verbal abuse, cussing (like, 1 swear word).  
> Author's Note: I loved writing this! It's more from the perspective of Emma's family and friends. Avery belongs to @audreythetealovingcat @audreyandherocs

Avery's eyes lit up as she spotted the tray set out on the bedside table in the Teague's guestroom. Emma shivered slightly at the tiny shock she got from Avery's excitement. She still hadn't quite gotten used to this- quirk- her friend had. Avery ran her fingers over the delicate petals of the sunflowers and pressed her nose to them, inhaling their sweet summery scent. Picking up the small painted box, she thumbed through the selection of teas it held. She giggled as she saw the pile of lemons, but no knife to cut them. "Emma, thank you! This is so sweet! You didn't have to do all this. It's enough that you're letting me stay with you for the week." Avery hugged her tightly.   
"Actually, it was mostly my mom. She got the flowers and tea, and the tray. I just did the little box."  
Avery turned to Mary, "Thank you, Mrs. Teague. You really didn't need to go to all this trouble. If there's anything I can do while"  
Mrs. Teague waved her hand dismissively. "It's no trouble at all, sweetheart. You're welcome in our home anytime. You're practically family. If you need anything while you're here, please let me or Emma know. And please, call me Mama T. All my girls' friends do."She beamed and hugged the young girl in front of her. "I'll let you three hang out while I finish dinner. Jessica should be home from gymnastics soon." Mary Teague had almost unnaturally good instincts about people, and a larger than average dose of maternal instincts to boot. She knew she couldn't have asked for better friends for Emma than Wally and Avery.  
Later that evening, after a scrumptious dinner of perfectly charred burgers, sweet corn, homemade pasta salad, and mouthwatering fruit salad, Emma and her friends relaxed around the patio table, joined by her family. Mrs. Teague had set out some freshly squeezed lemonade, and some homemade cookies Emma had helped her bake. Her daughter had insisted on trying out a new recipe for peanut butter chocolate cookies as well some lemon blueberry muffins for breakfast the next morning.  
A warm summer breeze danced in and out of the trees as fireflies blinked and twinkled around them. From down the block, children could be heard laughing and shouting; probably playing a game of late night tag. Fireworks burst in the distance. Tonight was one of the few nights that Emma's father joined them at the table after dinner, instead of locking himself in his home office. Neither Emma or Wally flinched when Avery grabbed a lemon and sunk her teeth into the peel. Jessica made a quick face and opened her mouth to say something, but one look from her mom and sister told her to behave.   
Emma's dad said nothing, but his disapproving pout was enough. Emma glared at him before looking at Avery. Either she hadn't noticed, or she wasn't reacting. That was for the best. Emma didn't want to deal with the way he'd respond if anyone questioned his rude behavior. Sensing Emma's tension, Avery put down her lemon and patted her friend's knee. Emma squeezed Avery's hand in a quick 'thank you'. She wasn't sure how, but Avery and Wally always seemed to know exactly what she was feeling, sometimes even better than her or her family. Avery was especially good at it.   
"So, Avery, is there anything special you want to do while you're here?" Mrs. Teague asked. "I'm good for whatever. It doesn't particularly matter to me," Avery shrugged.  
"Well, Emma's dad has to work tomorrow, and Jessie has a pool party and gym practice. You three are welcome to come to the party if you want. Or you can just hang out and do your own thing."  
Emma glanced at Avery, having sensed a change in her mood. It felt like tiny pinpricks of static, haphazardly scattering across her arms. Her hands were suddenly a bit clammy, and she felt jittery. It dawned on Emma that Avery was afraid of something. She answered before Avery had to say no. "Well, actually, there's that new interactive science wing they just opened at the Flash Museum. It's supposed to be really cool. We could go there."  
"Yeah! That sounds totally crash! Uncle Barry keeps putting off taking me."   
Avery smiled. "That sounds good to me. Is that ok, Mrs. Teague?"   
"Sure. If that's what you want to do," She nodded. "I'll leave you some money for tickets and lunch. And a little for the gift shop."   
Emma's dad had been sitting silently while the group discussed plans. The minute the Flash was mentioned, he stood up abruptly, nearly knocking over his chair before sulking off into the house.  
Emma clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, but her head was dipped in shame. "He just doesn't like metas." "Fucking asshole" She added under her breath.  
"Is it really alright, Mrs. Teague? I don't wish to upset anyone," Avery offered worriedly.  
"No, no. It's fine. Really. I'd tell you if it wasn't. If you want to go to the museum, then go and enjoy yourselves. Don't worry about him."  
"Yeah, its it's fine. Dad will get over it. He's kind of closed minded that way. Just because you have powers doesn't mean you're bad." Jess added.   
After a bit more reassurance from Emma's family, and the puppy dog eyes and pleading face from Wally, Avery gave in. She had been wanting to see the new exhibit, and she couldn't deny her friends. Plus, she theorized, there might be some things there that would help her and Wally test Emma's new- abilities. One quick read of Wally's thoughts and she sensed he seemed to be on the same page. She'd have to talk to him more about it later.   
The next morning Wally made sure to get to Emma's house a bit early to talk to Avery. Lately, he had noticed some strange things around Emma, and he wanted Avery's input on how to handle it. Besides, he figured Avery might have noticed some things too. He knew Emma would still be getting ready, affording him a chance to talk to Avery alone. Emma wasn't exactly a morning person. Wally bounced on his heels and greeted Mrs. Teague cheerfully when she opened the door. "Hi, Mama Teague good morning how are you?"   
Mary smiled at Wally and couldn't help but chuckle slightly at him. She never quite knew where he got all his boundless energy. "Come on in, sweetie," she said, letting him in. "Emma's still upstairs getting ready, but Avery's out on the back deck having breakfast. Can I get you anything?"   
"Mmmm, do I smell pancakes? And bacon?" He craned his neck to try and peek in the kitchen.   
Mama Teague smiled brightly. "Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruit, and Emma made muffins. It's on the kitchen table. Help yourself".   
"Gee thanks, Mrs. Teague. It smells so good." He yelled over his shoulder, already halfway to the kitchen. After fixing a heaping plate of breakfast Wally headed out to the gazebo and plopped down across from Avery. She was contentedly sipping her tea and munching on one of the muffins Emma had baked with her in mind.   
Mary Teague hummed to herself as she fixed herself a small breakfast plate and sat down at the table; looking out at Emma's two friends, whom she had come to see as her own adopted kids. She was glad her daughter had made such good friends. She had been worried about her when they had moved from Chicago. Emma had never been exactly outgoing, and making friends had been something she'd struggled with her whole life. In Chicago, she had had the Girl Scout troop that her mother lead, and her friends at summer camp. Now she didn't even have that. Somehow, by God's grace, she thought, Emma had met Wally and Avery and developed an almost inseparable bond with them. She had also made a few other close friends and started going to the youth group at a local church. Mary had recently started going back to church herself and her daughters joined her. She wanted them to have that same faith, knowing the strength and peace it had given her in the midst of a tumultuous time. Lately, she knew Emma would need all the support she could get.   
She had noticed that her daughter seemed to be developing some new powers. Whenever her husband and Emma argued; which was far too frequently the past few months; things moved without anyone touching them. And she'd been hearing some of Emma's thoughts as well, as clearly as if Emma were saying them out loud. A few times she'd actually asked Emma to repeat what she'd said, only to be met with a questioning stare and 'i didn't say anything'. Even worse, she was sure that Emma was somehow hearing some of her own worries and fears about her failing marriage, along with her father's thoughts about what a disappointment she was. Not that she needed to hear his thoughts to know how he felt. His cold demeanor toward her and the way he snapped at her for every little mistake was enough.  
Mrs. Teague vaguely remembered something about her ancestors having powers, possibly being of Alien descent. She suspected that was the cause of Emma's new powers, and she knew she would need to talk to somebody about what was happening to her. She also knew her daughter was noticing the powers herself, and she was scared. But every time Mary tried to approach the subject, Emma immediately shut down, becoming angry and defensive. Her daughter had never been this closed off from her before, and she didn't like it. Mrs. Teague prayed that her daughter's two friends would be able to get through her walls.   
Avery smiled as she watched Wally stuff a mouthful of pancakes into his mouth. "Didn't you already eat breakfast?" she chided sarcastically.  
He answered around his bite. "Yeah, I did. But Mama T made all my favorites. And her chocolate chip pancakes are the best!" He quickly glanced over his shoulder before leaning in across the table. "So. what are we gonna do? Y'know, bout our friend?"   
Avery took a thoughtful sip of her Earl Grey before answering. "Well," she started methodically, "We need to be certain she has powers first. And what exactly they are. So far, everything we've seen could be explained another way. We don't want to alarm her unnecessarily."  
"True, true. I wish we could ask her parents, but frankly, I don't trust her dad, and her mom has so much on her plate right now. And I'm not sure Emma would want us to bring it up to her mom. From what her mom has told me, she may have tried to talk to Emma about it, and it wasn't received well."  
"No, I definitely don't trust her dad, at least not with this. Not after his reaction last night. I get a bad vibe from him. Like he's always angry. And, unpredictable, aggressive. And I agree, we shouldn't go to her mom, yet. Not until we know for sure."  
"He is," Wally said. "At least from what she tells me. She's spent way too many weekends at my place or Uncle Barry's after they've fought. You don't want to know half of what she tells me. I'm worried about her. She hides it pretty well around most people, but she's carrying a lot. She's. I don't know what. I just know she's stressed. And most of that is because of him," he growled, pounding his fist on the table. " And now this, her possibly having powers. It should be a good thing. But for her..."Wally shook his head sadly and trailed off.  
"She doesn't talk much about it to me, but I feel it too. Her emotions are all over the place. However we approach this, we need to be careful. We don't want to stress her out anymore, and we don't know how she'll react. But, I can't imagine it will be good."  
"We should test her. At the museum. They have some new exhibits on metahumans and stuff. We can use that, she won't realize what we're doing." Wally offered, stuffing another bite of eggs in his mouth.  
"I don't like lying to her. She's been lied to enough." Avery said.  
"I don't like lying to her either. But we can't tell her we think she's a metahuman without being sure. You know her. The minute we tell her, she'll start overthinking and send her down a spiral. Before we say anything, we need to be absolutely sure. Or, at least as sure as we can be."  
"I don't know, Wally. I know you mean well, but "  
"Hey, you said yourself her emotions are all over the place lately. She's already confused enough, I think she's started to notice some things herself. And with her family. Her asshole dad's made it pretty clear how he feels about metas. If we tell her, she's going to end up worrying about what he'll think. Do we really want to send her down that thought process if we aren't sure she has them?"  
Avery bit her lip a bit and stirred her tea absentmindedly. "Ok. You're right." She sighed. "Let's test her at the museum. But after that, if we suspect, we have to tell her. Especially if she's started noticing the changes herself as you suspect. Which makes sense, it would help explain why her emotions are so confused."  
By the time Emma joined them, they had come up with their plan. She sat down just as they finished talking. She glanced back and forth between them a few times, frowning slightly. "So. What are you two so busy kibitzing about?"   
"Nothing. Nothing." Wally answered a little too quickly, causing Avery to kick him under the table.   
"Hmmm.. nothing? What's so secret about nothing?" Emma said, keeping her tone light but staring at Wally pointedly. If there was one thing she hated, it was people keeping secrets from her.   
"Actually, we were just talking about who to set you up with." As much as Avery hated lying to her friend, she knew Wally was right, and that keeping their discussion a secret, for now, was best. "We have this friend in Gotham". She hadn't thought about it before, but now that she did, a certain mutual friend of theirs would be perfect for Emma. This time Wally kicked Avery under the table.   
Sensing Wally's sudden change in mood, and sensing from Avery that whatever they were keeping from her wasn't anything bad, Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. Y'know what? I know who you can set me up with too. How about no one. I need a boyfriend like the Cubs need another curse."   
"Really? we can't set you up with anyone? Not even, a certain handsome hero? Who's really fast?"   
"No. Not even Kid Flash. Besides, are you sure you don't have a crush on him yourself, Wallman?" Emma nudged her friend.   
Avery nearly spat out her tea laughing. The group finished breakfast in a cheerful mood before heading out to the museum.


	5. Tests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally and Avery highly suspect that Emma has some special powers. But how can they be sure? They decide to test her powers to see exactly what they are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairings: OC / Wally West (platonic)
> 
> Warnings: none really
> 
> Word Count: Approx. 3800
> 
> A Note: Avery Yu belongs to @audreyandherocs @audreythetealovingcat on Tumblr

The drive to the Flash Museum was over before the fourth song on Emma's favorite Switchfoot cd started. The museum was laid out in a circular pattern, so they decided to just follow the circle, stopping at whatever looked interesting. 

The first exhibit was dedicated to the various speedsters throughout history, with a small statue and name plaque for each; with Flash and Kid Flash at the center. The base depicted scenes from some of the battles each speedster had won and quotes from the grateful people they had helped, along with information about numerous charities they had worked with. Wally grinned as he read a quote from a little girl saying how Kid Flash was her favorite hero. Fortunately, neither of his friends noticed him tear up a touch; he remembered this little girl in particular. 

Emma stared in awe at the polished bronze statues of Flash and Kid Flash towering above them. "I still can't get over the fact that this city has an actual museum to him. In Chicago, they pretty much either hated superheroes or were mostly neutral. It's so different seeing people like, actually embrace Flash and Kid Flash. 

"How could they hate superheroes? All the good they do? And the people they save? I don't get it," Wally asked.

Emma shrugged. "I don't get it either. It didn't use to be like that, from what I can remember. When I was a real little kid we had a handful of superheroes, and the police loved them. They worked with them. But then something happened. I'm not sure what, my dad wouldn't tell me. It was right before we moved here." 

Avery nodded. "So, is that why? Is that maybe why your father doesn't seem to like metas?"

Emma shook her head. "I wish it was. But no. He's always hated them. I don't get it. He doesn't like anything that's different."

Avery sensed Emma's frustration bubbling to the surface in a prickling sensation on her skin and quickly redirected the conversation. "Well we're here to enjoy the museum, and none of us feel that way. So let's enjoy it while we're here." 

The next exhibit mirrored the first, being dedicated to the Rogues Gallery. Now it was Emma's turn to sense Avery's mood shift. She could feel the girl's visceral hatred for Vandal Savage. Emma had never really heard much about the evil immortal, so she had no reason to hate him so intensely herself. But she found her stomach knotting and her hands clenched into fists without her control. She heard herself making a low growling noise in the back of her throat as she stared at the hologram of Savage. She heard Avery's voice in her mind as clearly as if she were speaking. A tirade of Chinese spilled from Avery's mind; Emma was surprised to find she could make out a cuss word here and there. Taking her friend by the shoulders, she motioned to Wally it was time to move on. 

As they passed the restaurant, Emma paused and tilted her head towards Wally. Did he just? She frowned. He did. She turned to face him and chuckled. "Wally. How can you possibly be hungry again already? We just got here!" 

Wally raised his brows at Avery quickly, then squinted at Emma. He hadn't said anything. But he had been thinking about how good a pizza sounded. 

Well, it is about lunch time, and it's been a few hours since we ate breakfast. Avery tested Emma to see if she heard. 

Sure enough, Emma did hear. She turned to Avery. "I guess you're right. I didn't realize it was this late already. Let's eat while we're here."

Let's share a pizza, Wally thought.

Emma didn't even notice that Wally hadn't said anything out loud. "That's a good idea. Let's get a pizza to share. How about."

Sausage, Avery suggested telepathically. 

"Sausage? Is that ok with yous guys?" She pulled out her wallet as she headed towards the counter to order. "What do you want to drink?" 

Wally and Avery decided to keep their little impromptu test going and see how long they could continue their telepathic conversation with Emma. 

Coke for me, Wally thought. "Really, Wally? Coke? Not Mountain Dew? Ok." 

I'll take a Sprite, Avery thought.

 

"Avery? Did you say you wanted a Sprite?" Emma ordered the pizza for them to share, and the drinks for her friends, with a root beer for herself. 

As the three sat down at the table, Wally kept his face blank as he questioned Emma. "So, how'd you know we were hungry?" 

Emma almost choked on her soda. So Wally hadn't said anything out loud earlier; she had just heard him mentally. She recovered as quickly as possible. "Well, Wallman, when are you not hungry? I seriously don't know where you put it all. " She nudged him playfully.

"What can I say? I'm a growing boy. I've got a fast metabolism." Wally shrugged. He looked at Avery. Either she really didn't hear me, and it was a lucky guess, or she's not ready to say anything yet. He was careful to keep his mind guarded so Emma didn't accidentally hear. They weren't quite sure how exactly her telepathy worked yet. So far it seemed to be sporadic, and outside of her control. 

Wally, you know there's no way she just made a lucky guess. Remember she straight up asked me if I'd said I wanted a Sprite. You and I both know I didn't say anything out loud. So we at least know she has telepathic hearing. What we need to find out is if she can control it and if she can transmit thoughts as well as just hear them.

To prove her point, she turned to Emma. "How'd you know I wanted Sprite? I didn't get a chance to answer."  
Emma's face flashed from confused to slightly worried before she answered. "I just know you well, I guess. I know you like your lemons, so it makes sense you'd like lemon pop." 

 

"Huh. Yeah, you're right." Avery held back from saying anything more at this point. 

Wally was biting his tongue to keep from saying anything to Emma yet as well. They still needed to test a few more things, and this was not a conversation either of them wanted to have with her in a public place. Wally knew his friend well enough to know this talk needed to happen somewhere she felt safe, and where she could ask questions without fear of anyone else hearing. Once they all finished eating the group headed to the next part of the museum. 

Emma ran ahead of her friends to the next exhibit, which focused on the Speedforce. The display explained how the Speedforce worked and featured a simulator where visitors could experience a virtual Speedforce; similar to the zero gravity rides at the space museum. There was also a special set-up detailing how a normal person's body would react to running at such high speeds. A treadmill hooked up tp next to a blood-pressure and heart rate monitor and a pulse oximeter let people see how their vital stats while running compared to Flash or Kid Flash's. State of the art technology also measured how much sugar, oxygen they burned, along with hydration levels. Avery and Wally gave each other a look. 

Should we have her try it? Avery asked.

Definitely. I've already noticed she does seem to be able to run faster and farther in gym class. Plus she seems stronger, so there's a good chance these powers she has are physical too, and not just mental. Except, it might look suspicious if we have her try it and the two of us don't. But I don't think you should exert yourself like that, and me, well. 

They were surprised to find that Emma had already eagerly stepped onto the treadmill. "What?" She shrugged at them. "I'm just curious. I've been working my butt off in Taekwondo lately, and it seems to be paying off." 

"Emma, are you sure? Just, be careful. The last thing we need is you having an asthma attack." Avery told her worriedly. As much as she wanted to see if her friend really did have some sort of physical powers, she was concerned about her. She knew Emma had had asthma attacks from overexerting herself before, and that Emma had a tendency to push herself too hard. She glanced at Wally. Ok, we need to test this, but we need to watch her carefully. We pull the plug if she starts reaching for that inhaler. 

Agreed. 

"Don't worry guys, I have my inhaler." She waved it at them. "And I can handle a few minutes on a treadmill." She pressed the start button, having hooked up all the monitors. She started off at a steady walking pace, gradually picking up to a full run. 

The next thing she knew she was running faster than she'd ever been able to run before. Normally she hated running, but this. This felt so much different. Like she was flying. It was exhilarating. She was sprinting as fast as she could, and all she could feel was the adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her legs weren't tired and cramping, her heart wasn't racing, her forehead wasn't covered in sweat that dripped into her eyes. Best of all, her lungs weren't burning and her throat wasn't constricting. She laughed with excitement as she cranked up the speed. Running had never been this effortless for her. She didn't bother to glance down at the readout. 

Wally's eyes widened and his jaw dropped when he saw it. A few seconds ago when he'd looked she was going nearly 10 miles an hour. Now she was pushing 20. Her pulse rate had barely climbed and all her other stats looked just as good. He looked at Avery and pointed to the screen. She nodded. He knew Emma's fastest mile time had only been about 14 minutes in gym class. Even that had been pushing it. She'd already gone five miles at her current speed. A quick mental word to Avery and he pulled the emergency switch on the treadmill, bringing it to a sudden stop.

Emma stared at Avery with a bewildered face. "Why'd you stop it? I feel great! I wanted to keep going!" she whined. 

 

"Emma, you've already been on it for a while. There's a line forming," she gestured behind them. 

"And you were pushing yourself pretty hard. You don't feel it now, but you were going almost 20 miles an hour. Are you sure you feel ok?"

"20 miles an hour?" Emma shrieked in disbelief.

Wally looked around quickly and noticed the crowd staring at the same time Avery sensed them. He placed a hand on Emma's back while Avery took her by the hand and they led her to a quieter corner, away from the nosy throng.  
"There's no way! I mean, yeah, I feel great, I've never been able to run like that before! Wow! That fast? Really? How long was I on it for? Dang, I don't even need my inhaler! I wish I could feel like this in class all the time!" She rambled.

"Emma, shhh. You've got to keep your voice down." Wally reprimanded.

 

Emma hung her head and fidgeted with the hem on her shirt with one hand, clutching her arm with the other. "Sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you guys. I'm sorry about that. I didn't think I was being that loud. It's just," she trailed off

Avery took her hand gently, stilling her anxious fidgeting. "It's alright. You didn't embarrass us. You've got nothing to apologize for. We're your friends, we're never going to be ashamed of you."   
Wally nodded. "Yeah, it's not that. You just need to be careful. You never know who might be listening. It could be dangerous if the wrong people hear you talking like that." 

 

"Who might be listening? What? I don't get it. What are you guys talking about? It's not like we know anyone here," Emma asked.

Wally gripped her shoulders and turned her to face him directly. He spoke slowly and methodically. "Emma. Think about it." He paused for a moment as he could see on her face that she was trying to decipher what they meant. "You were going on about how you're suddenly able to run so fast for so long without feeling it. How you felt like you were flying." He emphasized the last word. "Why might that not be a good idea to talk about so loudly? In this city, of all places?"

Avery watched Emma's face as her brows furrowed together and she squinted at the ground, biting the corner of her lip. Avery held back from giving her any hints. They needed Emma to figure this out on her own.   
What are they talking about? It's not like I was saying I actually was flying. Why are they so? In this city? What's he?

Wally saw his friend's eyes light up and the spark go off just as Avery felt the jolt of static when it finally dawned on Emma. She stood there in shock for a moment before her shoulders began to shake with laughter. She slapped her thigh with one hand, covering her mouth with the other. 

 

She barely caught her breath to blurt out "Wait. You guys don't think that I? I mean seriously! No, no, no! I do not! I mean, that would be awesome! But no! I've just been working my ass lately is all." She leaned in close and whispered emphatically. "I. Do. Not. Have superpowers." She added to herself I can't.

Wally smiled at her excitement and sudden change of mood. That overflowing enthusiasm was one of the things he adored about his best friend. He had hoped for a moment that she might take hearing what he and Avery had to tell better than expected. Then he felt the strange shoving sensation in his mind when she declared she didn't have powers. A light pressure settled on his head as if somebody was trying to stuff something inside that wouldn't quite fit. He put his hands up in surrender. "Ok, ok. Say no more. We get it." 

Avery felt something drilling at her temples when Emma made her declaration. She immediately recognized the sensation of someone trying to get past her mental wall. For a split second the idea that Emma could possibly have powers seemed utterly ridiculous to her. She pulled her hand away abruptly and took a small step back as she realized what was happening. "Ok. Wally's right. But you really should be careful."

Emma nodded. "Ok, yeah. Yous guys are right." Her eyes darted around, suddenly self-conscious. I'm being silly, she thought. Out loud she said, "Let's just go see the next part."

 

The group made their way through the museum without even until they came to a life-size statue of Gorilla Grodd with the title "Flash's Telepathic Foe." A short video showed the two mid-battle, followed by a brief description of how Grodd's powers worked, and of course, a bit of how Flash managed to beat him. A case contained a model for the mind control headband Grodd sometimes used. A plaque detailing various theories about how telepathy worked stood next to it. It also gave a bit of information about a few other telepathic opponents, and some allies like Martian Manhunter and Miss Martian.

Emma stared intently at the plaque listing the theories. "So, I don't get it. How does it work? The telepathy?"

 

Wally looked up from examining the model of Grodd's headband. "Are you asking me to explain how telepathy works?" 

"Yeah. How does it work? Like, I know most so-called psychics are just really good at reading people and stuff, but what about him?" She gestured to Martian Manhunter's photo. "What about the real telepaths?" 

"Well, there's a few theories on how it works." Wally started to explain. 

"Just like? Is it science, or magic, or something else?" Emma prodded. 

Avery spoke up. "Telepathy can be tricky to define and even harder to recognize. That's partly because there are so many different types, and each individual telepath has different abilities. As for science or magic, that depends on the person. It can be magic based, but there are also some scientific elements to it." 

"And don't forget, sometimes advanced science looks like magic until its able to be explained. For Martians, for example, scientists know that it's something in their genetics that gives them their powers. To us humans, they look like superpowers. But for them, it's just a normal part of their biology." 

"I think I get it, sort of. But now I just have other questions." Emma stared at Avery bewildered. 

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it. It's just one of those things you sort of take for what it is. Don't overthink it." Wally patted her arm.

"Hey look! Speaking of. Are you a telepath? Let's try it. Maybe it can help explain it a bit. You always did learn best with interactive stuff." Wally pointed excitedly at the sign hanging over a set of computers. "At the very least it could be fun." 

Nice. Avery encouraged Wally. We can see just how much she can control it. 

"I don't know." Emma shifted her weight back and forth on her feet. Truthfully the little set up did look tempting. She had vehemently denied having powers, but she strongly suspected that wasn't true. She felt fairly certain Wally and Avery were right about her new physical abilities. She feared there might also be some mental abilities, including possible telepathy. She glanced back at the computer and shrugged. "I mean, I guess. Why not?" She chuckled nervously. "It's not like this thing is probably that accurate anyway" 

Avery agreed to try the test with her first. They sat down as Avery carefully cleared her mind, letting down her barrier just enough to give Emma access without projecting anything herself. She clicked on the screen and selected a handful of images for the test. The idea was for one person to select the images and string them into a sentence, while the other person tried to figure out the sentence, or at least the images. Few people ever got it right, but everyone had fun trying. Emma took her seat across from Avery and waited for her signal to start. 

Emma pursed her lips and made eye contact with Avery. She knew Avery like a sister. If she could see the images Avery had picked from, this would be a snap. She squinted at her friend for a few seconds before an image and a strange sensation came to her. She saw several long finger-like projections stretching out in front of her, reaching for Avery. A tickling sensation played at the back or her brain, working its way forward. The tickling became more intense and changed to more of a prickling, like thousands of tiny needles and Emma could just make out the outlines of several shapes. She closed her eyes, in part to ward off the growing pressure in her skull, in part to block out everything else and bring the shapes into focus. 

Avery felt a slight pressure at her temples as Emma concentrated. She could see long tentacles coming towards her in her mind's eye. They wrapped her head, surprisingly gentler than Avery expected. If she had her mental walls up, it would have been more uncomfortable, like somebody drilling at her temples. As it was, it felt like Emma was pulling her hair a bit too hard and tugging at her skull. Avery didn't notice Emma rubbing at her forehead, but Wally did. 

Despite her slowly growing headache, Emma kept focused on the images in her mind's eye. She was so close to forming a full picture. Wally and Avery might have suggested trying the little test in good fun, but she had to know for sure. She leaned forward, craning her neck as if to see a movie screen. At the same moment, the pictures came into focus, a sound came to her. She opened her eyes and jumped in her seat. 

"Um, I think I hear a dog barking?" She closed her eyes briefly again. "And, I think. It's brown? I see a brown dog." 

Wally glanced from Avery's screen to Emma, and back. He hadn't expected results like this. 

Emma rubbed her forehead again and squeezed her eyes shut tighter before she continued. "I see a school bus, and I think I hear kids on it. And, there's one more. I hear, music? It's, um, I think I see. Um, uh, oh! Is it an iPod? It's blue." She opened her eyes as she severed the link, causing Avery to stumble back in her chair a bit. She looked at Avery questioningly, waiting for confirmation. She knew it was strange that she'd actually seen images, let alone heard them. She also knew she should probably be acting like she hadn't really seen or heard anything, that she should be hiding this. Especially if she really was a telepath. But a desperate curiosity got the better of her. She'd wondered for a few months now, and she knew she could trust Wally and Avery if she could trust anyone. 

Avery hadn't noticed the expectant look on her face while she recovered from the sudden release of pressure and put her psychic walls back up. She had, however, heard what Emma had said. What Emma had said had impressed, shocked, and slightly worried her. She was sure now that her friend was a telepath and a strong one at that. 

Wally and Avery watched Emma with faces as passive as possible. "Emma," Avery started slowly. "You got all of them." 

Sensing Emma's growing worry, Wally attempted a joking tone to lighten the mood. "Hey, you did so well with this, maybe you can get me the answers to the next math test?" 

Emma looked at Wally, then at Avery, expecting them to break out in full laughter. She knew that wouldn't happen though. "C'mon Avery. What were they really? That's not possible. There's like, a million different combinations possible. There's no way I could have guessed what you picked." She gulped. "Unless.." Her breath quickened and her hands shook. "No, no, no. Please no." 

Avery answered slowly, carefully. "Emma. That was it. No joke. I don't joke about matters like these." 

Emma took a small step back, eyes wide. "Matters like these?"

Wally placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Let's go home, Emma. It's getting late, and we need to talk."


	6. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Wally and Avery finally confront Emma about her powers. Things don’t go how they hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word Count: 2094   
> Warnings: Foul language, aggressive argument  
> Author’s Note: Telepathy and ‘thought dialogue’ in italics  
> As always, Avery Yu belongs to @audreythetealovingcat @audreyandherocs on Tumblr

The drive back to Emma’s house was uncomfortably silent. Neither Wally nor Avery were exactly looking forward to the conversation they were about to have. Emma didn’t know for sure what they wanted to talk about, but she had a good guess. Her mind raced off in a million directions toward all the worst case scenarios and her stomach did somersaults. It didn’t help that she could feel her friends’ tension. Avery switched on the radio on low volume, hoping it would help Emma relax. She listened for a moment before abruptly punching the power button. 

“Emma, it’s ok. Just breath. Don’t worry about the what-ifs. Just focus on the road for now.” Wally reached over the seat to squeeze her shoulder. 

Emma attempted a half smile and loosened her grip on the steering wheel ever so slightly, taking a deep breath. “Yeah. Thanks.” She hated the waiting. It felt like it had been hours since Wally and Avery told her they needed to talk. In reality, barely more than 20 minutes had passed. She breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled into her driveway. Slamming the car into park and yanking the key out of the ignition, she turned around to face her friends. “Okay, tell me! What did you need to talk to me about?” She shouted

Avery and Wally exchanged a look.

“Oh, god. It’s bad. Isn’t it?” 

Avery reached out to take Emma’s hand. “No, it’s not bad. It’s just, well, it might be a lot to take in. Let’s go inside and we’ll talk. I’ll make you some tea.” 

Emma nodded. “Yeah. Ok. Sure, thanks.” 

A few minutes later the group was settled in Emma’s room. Or rather, Wally was sitting on the edge of the bed bouncing his knee; Emma was pacing the length of the room with a face that wouldn’t have been out of place at the doctor’s office awaiting a terminal diagnosis. Normally her room was Emma’s special place of solace. Now it felt like the pale purple walls were closing in on her. 

Only Avery looked calm. She sat in Emma’s rocking chair holding a steaming cup of tea, which she held out to Emma. “Here,” she said. “Drink this. It’s a special tea that will help with your nerves. My uncle’s recipe.”

Not wanting to offend Avery Emma timidly took the cup, blowing on it before taking a sip. As the warm liquid coursed through her she felt a slight tingling sensation as the brew took effect. “Thanks. That does help, a little.” She stopped pacing and looked slightly less terrified. 

Wally patted the bed next to him. “Ems,” he said gently, “why don’t you sit down? I promise it’s not as bad as you think it’s going to be.” He shrugged. “Hey, it could even be a good thing if you look at it right.”

Glancing at both her friends, Emma finally took a seat on the edge of her desk chair. She tightly clutched the teacup like a security blanket. 

Avery glanced at Wally before starting. “Emma, before we say anything, just remember. Wally and I are your friends. We love you and we’re here for you no matter what.”

Emma froze with the teacup halfway to her lips. “Oh, god. What did I do? What’s wrong? Whatever it is I’m sorry.” She set the cup down nervously. “You’re scaring me.”  

“You didn’t do anything, Emma,” Wally offered reassuringly. 

“Then what the hell is it? Just fucking tell me already!” she screamed, launching out of her chair. 

“Don’t freak out, Emma but we think,” Wally started slowly.

Avery cut him off, speaking matter-of-factly. “ We think you have powers.”

“Well, not think. We know.” Wally corrected. 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? I have powers?” Emma questioned, gesturing wildly.

Avery could feel her friend’s agitation rising and realized they needed to be more direct. “Superpowers. You have superpowers, Emma.” 

“S-s-superpowers? No. No fucking way. You mean, like, I’m a damn metahuman?” Emma shrieked. When neither of them answered immediately she began pacing again, head in her hands. “Fuck, shit shit shit shit, shit, shit! This cannot be happening. I can’t be a damn. No.”  _ I can’t be a metahuman. I just can’t be,  _ she thought. 

“Well, you might not be exactly a metahuman, not technically” Wally interjected helpfully.

Emma looked at him with desperate hope.

“Maybe you're actually an alien. Or part, at least.”

Emma stared at him in disbelief. How could he not understand the gravity of the situation? “A fucking alien?” She cried “Oh great, so I might not even be human? How in the ever loving fuck is that any better you imbecile?” She started muttering to herself and pacing again.  _ No. No, no, no, no, no! I’m not a freak! I’m just a normal person! Not an alien! Not a metahuman! Oh god, my dad. He’s gonna. Oh shit. I’m dead. If he finds out! But wait, maybe. What if. A joke! This has to be a _ … The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. “Is this some kind of a sick joke to you assholes? Is this funny to you?” She stared them down, waiting for an answer. 

_ Calm down, Emma. It’s not a joke. We wouldn’t joke about this. We’d be cruel if we would.  _ Avery put a hand on Emma’s shoulder.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut, holding back tears. “No. No, I guess you wouldn’t,” she relented, sensing her friend’s sincerity through the cloud of her own emotions. “But that means. So I’m really a?” She shoved Avery’s hand off suddenly. “Wait! You’re wrong! You have to be wrong! I mean, how can you know for sure? You can’t! You have to be wrong!” 

“Emma, we wouldn’t be telling you if we weren’t one hundred percent sure.” Wally stood up and moved to take her hand. 

She put her hands up and backed away. “You’re sure? How can you be?”

“Well, for starters, I’ve been noticing some- changes, with you lately. You’re running faster, you’re stronger than ever, and your endurance is like, way up. You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed it, too,” Wally pointed out. 

“Well, yeah. Sure, I’ve noticed a few, yeah” Emma shrugged. “But like, that doesn’t mean. Sure, I can run a little faster, and I’m stronger, but, but”

“Emma, you went from barely being able to jog a mile to being able to run 20 miles an hour for five straight minutes. And that day in gym class? You ran an extra mile in a matter of seconds and didn’t even realize it. And you at least doubled your strength seemingly overnight.” 

“That’s not normal, Emma. For your speed, endurance, and your strength to increase so quickly like that. It’s- superhuman.” Avery stated calmly.

Emma started pacing again. “Okay, so, so, maybe that was just a fluke? Or like, a virus, or something, I don’t know.”

“It’s no fluke. Or a virus.” Wally countered. “It’s been going on at least as long as I’ve known you. Flukes and viruses don’t last for over a year and a half.”

Emma gulped. “I. I. That long?” she stammered. She looked at Avery desperately. “Avery?”

Avery nodded.  _ As long as I’ve known you, Emma. Remember the bat? Major leaguers rarely shatter them like that. _

Emma didn’t notice that her friend hadn’t moved her lips. Or she pretended not to. “You too, Avery? That long? Why?” she cried. “Why didn’t you say something sooner? Why the hell didn’t you tell me? I trusted you! And you kept this from me! What the fuck!” Her breath came out ragged and her voice cracked. 

“I’m sorry, Emma. But like Wally said, we needed to be sure. We are now. We didn’t want to alarm you needlessly.”

Wally placed a guiding hand on her back. “Emma, maybe you should sit down. You look pretty pale.” 

“I don’t want to sit down, damn it!”

“Emma, you really should sit down for the next part,” Avery suggested.

“The next part?” Emma screeched. “There’s more you’ve been keeping from me?” She was on the verge of tears.

“Emma, you have telepathy, too; and telekinesis. And possibly more that we don’t know about yet,” Avery continued.

“Telepathy? Telekinesis?”

“Emma, haven’t you noticed how things seem to move around you without you touching them? Especially when you’re mad or scared?” Wally reminded.

“And just now, when I told you how long I’d known? And about the bat? Emma, I didn’t say anything out loud. And Wally and I have been hearing your thoughts as well. And back at the museum? With the telepathy exhibit? We were, um” Avery looked a bit sheepish. “We were testing you. I have to say for someone with no training you’re an incredibly strong…”

Emma stopped listening the minute she heard the word test. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. “You were testing me?” she hissed. “Like some kind of fucking science experiment? And you’re known the whole time we’ve known each other? So, so what? Was our whole friendship just some scheme to, to what? Have you been laughing at me behind my back this whole time? Oh, look at the dumb freak!”

Wally approached cautiously. “No, Emma, it's not like that. We would never” He said earnestly.

“Emma, we want to help you. Wally and I, we have- experience- with this. I know it doesn’t feel like it now, but what I said earlier is true. We’re your friends. We’re here for you, no matter what. But you need to learn how to control your powers before” she didn’t get to finish her sentence. 

Emma looked around frantically, searching for something. Her eyes landed on the china cup. Before the thought was fully formed in her mind; before she even knew she was thinking about it, the cup went flying across the room. Wally shoved Avery out of the way just as it shattered against the wall.

The crash of glass shattering brought Emma to her senses. She stared in horror at the scene before her. The dark brown of the tea stains splattered against the pale walls. The scratches and dents in the wall from the shards of glass scattered on the floor. Wally hovering protectively over Avery. Her two best friends, standing across from her, looking at her like that. “Did I? Avery? I, oh god! Did I do that? Oh my god, I'm so sorry!” she cried, hiding her mouth behind her hand.

“It’s ok, Emma. But you need to learn to control this. Before you really hurt someone. We can help.” Wally reassured.

“You want to fucking help me? You can’t help me! You both lied to me for over a year. And now you tell me I’m some sort meta freak? Like hell I’m going to let you help me! You’ve already done enough, assholes!”

Avery held up her hands in surrender. “Emma. Everything's going to be alright but you need to calm down,” she warned. 

“No, everything is not ok! Do not tell me to calm down, you stupid idiot!”

“Emma, she’s right,” Wally put his hands on Emma’s shoulders in a meager attempt to comfort her. 

“No! Don’t fucking touch me!” She shoved Wally off her with all her might. He flew across the room like a rag doll, slamming into the wall. 

Avery quickly moved to help Wally up and looked at her sadly.

“Oh god, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Wally,” Emma sobbed, paralyzed in shock.

“It’s ok, Emma. We know you didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” Avery was quick to reassure her.

“I’m a freak! I’m a damn freak!” Emma suddenly clutched her chest, gasping. “Air. I need air. I can’t. I need. I gotta get out of here.” She looked around the room, desperately grabbing her tennis shoes and lacing them up with shaking fingers. Securing her phone and inhaler in a pouch at her waist she bolted out the door. She disappeared with a whoosh of air. She didn’t look back as Wally called after her. 

Avery held him back as he started to run after his friend. “Let her go, Wally. She needs to process this. We just threw a lot at her. Give her time.”

“Yeah ok. We can give her time. But, I’m worried about her, Avery. I’m worried about our friend.”

“Me too, Wally. Me too. But she’ll be alright. She’s strong, not just physically. I trust her.”

“Yeah. Yeah. So do I,” Wally said as he blinked back tears. 


End file.
